"It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero" that is Joe Goldberg (who goes by the name Jonathan Moore this time). It has been established since Season 1 of You that Joe, played by Gossip Girl alum Penn Badgley, has always been the problem, regardless of his upbringing or what he has been through. So it seems incredibly appropriate—despite the horrific murders and bizarre plots—that the season finale of the fourth season of You uses a pop song that best describes Joe himself: "Anti-Hero" by none other than Taylor Swift. And the Netflix show's showrunner, Sera Gamble, explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter why she chose to include the song and how she obtained the rights to do so, saying that it was "hilariously perfect" for the serial killer protagonist.
Although the song just recently came out, Gamble shared that it best fits Joe's current conflicted mental state, and she thought there's "no harm" in asking Swift herself if they can include it in the show. She told THR: "It had very recently come out, and we had another great big song in there that was more British. I watched the video and I realized that it was hilariously perfect for Joe, and then my first thought was, “Why would she let us use this immediately?” Sometimes if it’s the single that’s in the world at that moment. It’s a very, very precious song, and it would mean a lot. But it was one of those things where I just thought, “No harm in asking.” And then we were very grateful when she said yes."
As for the British song, Gamble also told THR that she'll keep it in her "pocket" and perhaps use it when the opportunity arises. "Anti-Hero" is the lead single from Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights, and the lyrics discuss—for one—self-loathing and one's own shortcomings, coming to terms with the fact that sometimes the problem is them. So playing "Anti-Hero" in the background of the season finale and Joe finally realizing that he's been the "monster on the hill" all along could not get even more fitting for Joe's situation, especially considering that the first part of Season 4 of the show made audiences believe that Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers) is the "Eat The Rich Killer" killer, only for the second half to reveal that the Rhys that Joe knew was just a figment in his twisted imagination.
The crossover of the Netflix series with Swift songs is something we never knew we needed, but here it is. In "The Death Of Jonathan Moore" episode in the series, "Anti-Hero" played just after Joe's murder spree. It wasn't the first time the show used Swift's song as the singer-songwriter's track, "exile," played softly in the background while Joe and Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) struggled to raise their son in the midst of their murderous urges. On the other hand, Badgley's debut on TikTok went viral after he used the "Anti-Hero" track in his video, in which he runs through the doorway of his apartment before finally coming face to face with himself and admitting that he is the problem.
A serial killer who owns up to his own mistakes? Still a red flag. But the second part of the show's fourth season has hit all the right notes, and it's now streaming on Netflix. You can watch the trailer below.